This week, some 24,000 people who have registered to attend a community reception for India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Sydney, will get to know if they’re going.
To be held on Tuesday 23 May at the Sydney Olympic Park, the event is organised by the not-for-profit Indian Australian Diaspora Foundation.
The event – called Australia Welcomes Modi – will be held on the sidelines of the Quad heads of government meet, at which Mr Modi will join American President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and host Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Mr Modi’s community receptions across the diaspora famously have a “rockstar” quality about them, at which thousands of people attend.
Some 18,500 people in Sydney will attend this time round, and a few more thousand will watch live from just outside the venue.
We spoke to a cross-section of people who have registered for the reception on 23 May.
Raghu Pulavorty of Sydney, IT manager, claims he wants to go to see not only the PM but also his fellow countrymen.
“I want to see both the enthusiasm of the community, as well as hear the messages that the Prime Minister has to convey. He’s an expert communicator, with a special message each time for his audience of the moment, and I’m keen to see what it will be for us as Pravasi Bharatiyas (diaspora Indians). I appreciate the recognition in recent times that we Pravasis continue to be significant for India – that we can and do contribute towards the progress of our homeland too – whereas previously we were invisible.”
He added about what motivated him to register for the Sydney reception for PM Modi, “I don’t call myself a ‘Modi fan’ – I’m just pleased to see the change in India. Leadership does play a role in how plans are put into action.”
Kanti Jinna of Canberra will be a repeat attendee at this month’s event, even though he has met the Prime Minister a few times before.
“I first met him in Canberra in 2001 on his maiden visit to this country as General Secretary of the BJP,” he told Indian Link. “He was a striking personality, and it was obvious that he would go places. I felt the same when I met him again in Sydney a few years later as he led a business delegation; then in 2014 at the Sydney community reception, and in Bangalore during the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas in 2017. He has steadily grown in stature, and I am keen to see him again.”
While there’s palpable excitement among those who are attending or hoping to win in the draw to see Mr Modi, there are also those who are disappointed in his particular brand of politics, and won’t be attending. “PM Modi is not fond of facing hard questions from the media or the public, rather relishes big speeches where no one can question him,” said Param Dhillon of Newcastle.
Brisbane’s Reet Sandhu agreed. “The Press Freedom Index has India slipping, and that is concerning. The heavy handedness in using government institutions like the CBI and other enforcement agencies against those who present differing points of views such as the BBC, sadly takes away from the great advancements and achievements of India in the past decade or more. Modi can do even more wonders for India by advocating more strongly a path of tolerance, but things may actually be going in the opposite direction for certain sections of the community. So, no – no Modi-mania for me.”
For twenty-something Sanskriti Kaul though, it promises it be a memorable occasion. An international student at Melbourne’s Victoria University, she couldn’t believe that seeing the Prime Minister was as simple as putting in an expression of interest. “If I was in India, I would never have gotten this opportunity,” she observed.
What would she say to Mr Modi if she got a chance?
“That Indian students are doing well here, and that we can achieve great heights if given the opportunity.”
She added, “I’m also keen to see Modiji interact with Anthony Albanese. It’s amazing to see the strides the two countries have made in recent months in their relationship, and to know that they will help each other prosper in coming months.”
That very same thought is uppermost in the mind of Perth’s Prashant Singh, founder of the Indian Australian Technology Forum, who missed the 2014 event and is now looking forward to Sydney reception for PM Modi on 23 May. “So much has changed in the India-Australia relationship since 2014 that we can be proud of – in trade, following ECTA; in regional security, following Quad, and in other collaborations such as in my own field of work cybersecurity. Australia has cemented its relationship with India thanks to Modiji’s foundational work at home – it’s on solid ground.”
And what would he say to the PM?
“I’d say thank you. There’s a real shift now in the way the world views India – the world’s fifth largest economy.”
Melbourne’s Ritesh Mehta is similarly deeply interested in the movements in his home country, despite having lived in Australia for decades. “Every time an Indian dignitary visits, whether from politics or business, I attend. I am keen to hear what they have to say, and to ask questions. Modiji’s visit is an opportunity I wouldn’t miss for anything. How often do you get a chance to hear directly from the prime minister?”
It is a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”, Melbourne businessman Tapan Desai said – no matter that he’s actually availing of it for the second time. “Hum aa rahe hain Sydney, joron shoron se! (We’re coming to Sydney filled with enthusiasm.)”
Why do you love Modiji so much, we asked.
“Because he loves the nation!” he replied.
There are some that don’t feel particularly loved right at this moment, we suggested. It was an idea he dismissed outright.
“Well, no one can please everyone. The masses feel that hamara saubhagya hai (it is our good fortune) to have such a leader. My ticket is booked!”
And then there are those that feel the durbhagya (bad fortune) of it all, having missed out on registration for the Sydney reception for PM Modi.
Aditi Sathe commented under an Indian Link social media post about the event, “Couldn’t find the link to register… I’m heartbroken; could not attend in 2014 either.”
Mila Kay, another social media user, also posted, “I’m heartbroken too. Have been searching for registration also.”
Sydney’s Bipasha Podder Saha asked, “I see that registration is closed. Is there any way I can still get in?”
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